Zane Grey Invitational Tournament in Dana Point, Sept 9-11
OutdoorHub 09.04.12
The Zane Grey Invitational, the first event of the 2012 California Billfish Series presented by COSTA, kicks off on September 9th in Dana Point.
The Southern California striped marlin bite is producing solid action coming off of the full moon, and there is already nearly $25,000 in prize money sitting in the bank. With great fishing, and big bucks up for grabs, all signs are pointing to a banner year for the Zane Grey Invitational and the California Billfish Series presented by COSTA. The fishing keeps on improving with striped marlin reports come from the 209, the 267, Avalon Bank and the Slide. Boats are signing up fast, so don’t delay and get your slip reserved today.
The Zane Grey Invitational takes place September 9-11 in Dana Point, Calif. The event begins with a mandatory Captains’s Meeting at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9th, followed by a catered dinner at 7 p.m. Day One fishing will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the weigh station located at the Dana Point Fuel Dock. A cocktail reception follows the fishing action. The final day of fishing will run from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. followed by a cocktail party and the Award’s Reception at the OC Sailing and Events Center in Dana Point Harbor.
The Zane Grey is the first event in the California Billfish Series, presented by COSTA. The series also includes the Avalon Billfish Classic and the Catalina Classic which are fished simultaneously from September 23-25 on historic Catalina Island.
The Zane Grey Invitational is known to attract the best offshore fishing crews in Southern California. It’s also known for it’s high-end banquet, custom trophies, competitive fishing and the legendary prime rib dinner.
This year’s award’s banquet will take place at the OC Sailing and Events Center in the harbor, and will be catered by the Blue Agave Restaurant, so all teams are encouraged to come hungry!
The Zane Grey is a modified-release tournament, awarding points for boated fish that meet the minimum length and/or weight requirement, as well as points for releasing undersized striped marlin. Because of its unique format, the Zane Grey attracts some of the top marlin teams on the West Coast.
The tournament offers participants the opportunity to enter several optional jackpots that really inflate the prize money. These optional categories range from $250 a day up to $5,000, so if you want to go big, this is the event to do it!
The trick to taking home a fat payday in the Zane Grey is to catch a big stripey. Striped marlin over the minimum weight receive two points per pound for the minimum weight (165 pounds) plus an additionalthree points per pound for each whole pound over the minimum weight. A 200-pound striped marlin, for example, would score 330 points (165 pounds x 2 points) + 105 points (35 pounds x 3 points) for a total of 435 points. It makes for some exciting fishing as it typically takes just one or two big fish tomove a team up into the money.
Teams wishing to take part in the Zane Grey Invitational are encouraged to reserve a slip at the Dana Point Marina. For information, contact Tournament Director Ali Hussainy at ali@BDoutdoors.com or 858-560-5525.
For complete Zane Grey Invitational rules andother information visit www.catalinaclassic.com.
